The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported on Thursday that the monkeypox virus is now in 36 states.
The total count of confirmed cases remains at around 700, according to the CDC.
Internationally, there are more than 7,000 cases of monkeypox that have been confirmed in 57 locations. The virus has spread throughout the U.S. before, in 2003 and 2021.
What is the virus? It’s a variant of the smallpox virus, and has symptoms that include fever, headache, rashes, and exhaustion and typically lasts 2-4 weeks.
The virus spreads from person to person through the transmission of bodily fluids, often through sex, although individuals can still contract the virus from being scratched by animals.
The CDC says there are two vaccines available for preventing infection, but it is uncertain how effective they are against this current outbreak of the virus.
This story originally appeared in WORLD. © 2022, reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.